Ahh…you gotta love being grounded. Oops.. Either way, heres the chapter. I'll update the las tone tomorrow just to make it up to you guys!!

13. I'm not who I thought I was

"Ah, it's nice to see your bright smiling faces in the morning," Seto calls sarcastically. Ryou turns around along with the group of 5 others. They were Kaiba's employees, of course, and he found out that they were supposed to advertise his company's newest version of his brand name technology. It was probably another rip off like some of his other titles.

After talking to the pilot for a few moments, Seto groaned and faced Ryou. He could tell by his eyelids, that Kaiba wasn't exactly happy right now; or he was very tired.

When he reached earshot with Ry, Kaiba sighed, "I hope you have a good time. Even though this isn't the plan that Yami and I had planned out. But it's your choice. Oh yea, this isn't my plane either. My jet broke down last night on a test flight, so this guy was called in last minute to fly for me…he's not very happy."

Ryou smiled, "That's alright. I just wanted to thank you for the trip. I mean, it's not everyday you get a chance to fly free is it?"

Seto chuckled a bit before being interrupted by the pilot. "Mr. Kaiba, I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"Now is fine. Get this guy on first, then my employees; they're not as important as this guy."

The chief flyer nodded and walked back towards his plane.

"Well, Ry have a good time. I would hate to spend this money on a worthless trip," Kaiba jokes.

The albino nodded, "Again, thanks."

As the male was ushered onto the plane, he watched Kaiba walk back into his company. His tall, slender figure walked up to a shorter, slightly more bulky figure. Ry could tell that it was Joey. He watched Seto lean over him; their silhouettes merged into one that soon vanished behind a curtain that was pulled down to end the scene

(Ryou's POV)

The ride on the plane was extremely nice, but loud. I had to sit somewhere in the middle of the seating area due to the fact that the pilot had to make two stops. The cab was packed! Not only that but I had to be squished between two people.

I'm not trying to be mean…but the man on my left was slightly larger, if you will, and stank vigorously of undeniable B-O. To me, that's just disgusting. Unlike the lady on my right; she looked more like Skeletor than a woman. She was one of the many people who were loud; with her high-pitched voice, fragile structure, and wild hair, she reminded me of Medusa.

"That's enough people! This argument will do nothing but piss off the pilot—" one of the extra riders shouted, all in attempt to stop the fighting but is interrupted.

"And cause Kaiba Corp. to flourish! If we can just scam them to, and passed, the point of no return we could all make millions of dollars just on this trip!"

"Tell me Steve, this little scam that you know about, is it legal?" the lady next to me inquires leaning forward.

Before this 'Steve' character can answer, all Hell breaks loose again over this 'scam' issue he brought up. Yay…

Only an hour later, the fight grew less and less physical and verbal, thanks to the arrival to the airport. As soon as I get off this plane, I'm going off with out these people.

It was cool to see the long beach and resorts in the sunset to my right. The silhouettes of people playing around on the shores could be observed right from the large window that made up the wall of the building. Although the tranquility in the airport didn't last long when someone called my name; I jumped and spun around.

"Hey kid, you're the guy who's the VIP from Kaiba right?" Some totally random person asked me.

'Kid? I'm 24 years old…' I growl mentally, but I don't take my time on answering, "No, sorry, I'm afraid you've been mistaken."

"Oh Ra, I'm sorry, sir. You just looked a lot like him," the man apologizes looking around, almost paranoid.

"That's alright. If that's all…I'll be on my way," I excuse myself and walk away.

Although I felt a little bad about my lie, but I don't want to be here under Kaiba's rule; I want to be free, for a little while anyways.

'Oh well, he'll get over it.'

"Oh my! I can't believe that they're playing at the concert! I'm so totally going!" a girl shrieks to her friends, "Oh please tell me we're going!"

"Well yeah, that band is like, the hottest thing since punk/rock was invented," her friend agrees.

"Yep, remember it's at 1207 Lakeport Ave; tonight at 7."

With a few giggles from the gaggle of teens, they walk off towards the baggage belts to claim their luggage.

I quickly memorize the concert's address; hopefully the music would take my mind of things. Too bad I'm not a huge fan of punk/rock music. With a sigh, I follow behind them to catch some of the details to the concert.

I wait patiently as the baggage comes out one suitcase at a time. Although none of the first few had my blue and yellow tassels hanging off the handle, I figured I'd be there for a while. Not to mention I had to get a rental car after this.

While glancing at each case, I hear someone calling out what sounds like my name. I spin around to see a mother chasing her daughter; the young girl strewing clothes about the room; out of an open bag.

"Mayu, you're not going anywhere near the beach when we get out of here! I'll make that perfectly clear to your father too!" the mom shouts in a desperate chance to make the kid stop.

She gasps and drops all the clothes right there; her large brown eyes swelling with tears as she begins to cry loudly. "Mommy!"

I jump at her shrill sob and look at her again only to find myself staring at her café orbs. They looked exactly like Bakura's, only these were eyes full of innocence and purity. Kura's were only full of greed and hate.

'Greed and hate?' I wonder to myself. In my hand bag I picture Bakura's diary lying on the bottom. I was able to tell just from the writing that Kura was hurt as a child. He grew up not knowing love from anyone. Even after he witnessed his drug addicted parents being shot and killed, he didn't know whether to cry or praise his new found freedom. 'That's why he beat me; because he didn't know how to love. I could always see it in his eyes when he was done. It flickered for a second before he left me alone. He was so sorry…' I closed my eyes. Shame washed over my like a waterfall. 'I could've saved you…what made me so blind? Bakura…'

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I look back at the bags that had past. As fate would have it, the one I missed was one of mine. The blue and yellow strings vanishing as the bag rounded the corner.

"Hey, grab that bag please!" I call out chasing after it.

When I reach the kind man who seized, I look into the familiar, blue eyes of the man. That's when it clicked; this is the guy who stopped me earlier.

The guy looks at the tag which contains all of my personal information. He blinks as his eyes skim over the card. The words 'Kaiba Corp.' were printed clearly in the background. A smile faintly rested on the bald man's lips when he handed the bag to me.

"Ryou Haruki, I presume?"

I stutter in an unsure way to respond, "I…I uhh…yes?"

The man laughs and says, "I thought so. Kaiba sent me a picture of you and your name. He told me that you'd lie about your identity."

"And who are you exactly? I never caught your name…" I ask trying to buy myself time, but I really had forgotten his name too. Oops.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Shadi. My girlfriend, Isis, is waiting out in the car for us. Are there any more bags for you?"

I shake my head and follow him through the large crowd of people. This was about as weird as things can get. First I'm stopped by this totally random guy, whom I never requested to help me, then I'm being dragged by this character to his car where Ra-only-knows what'll happen to me. But then again…what do I have to lose? I've lost everything that I once held dear to me.

(Normal POV)

"Oh…Bakura, huh? I know him. He's cute," Isis comments as they drive down the road. Shadi looks over in her direction with a fake, hurt scowl. Isis only looks ahead of her at the road and smiles, "Well I'm not lying about it! You even told me you'd date him if you we're gay. Thank Ra you're not though!" Her laughs end when she catches Ryou's eyes looking at her in the rear view mirror. "Oh Ry, I didn't mean anything by that. I'm sorry. I actually dated a gay man in high school. I found that out when he wouldn't touch me or tell me he loved me." She laughs again and Shadi turns around to face Ryou.

"Don't worry about her. She's mental, not a clue what she's talking about sometimes," that's when he laughs himself.

Ryou smiles and asks, "What exactly did Kaiba tell you? I know he said that it was your job to hook us back up, but I don't want you guys to waste your time helping me out. Besides I don't exactly love him anymore. I mean I haven't spoke to the guy in like 3 years and we didn't leave each other on good terms either."

Shadi's face grows serious, "Seto told you that I worked for him. That's a lie. I'm a bouncer for the bar that's down the street from that concert that is going on. I have to keep all those little, underage bastards out of the bar. I'm not having any kids."

"So you say," Isis interrupts. "We'll see how long that kid-less thing will go as you get older."

Shadi rolls his eyes and finishes, "Anyways, although Seto told you that her and I were going to help you find Bakura; I'm not going to force you to do anything. For one I won't be there and you claim to not love Kura. I'll just let you do as you wish. If you want to stay in the hotel, see the sights, and relax; be my guest. But if not, here's the address to his house…shack…whatever. I'll leave it up to you."

Ryou stares at the piece of paper and takes it carefully from Shadi's hand. It was a very generous offer, but Ry wasn't interested.

"Look, thanks for the offer. But I'm here for a week; I just want to relax and not think about home for awhile. I'll keep the option in mind. Oh yeah, I want to go to that concert too. Do you mind getting me a ticket?" Ryou announces kindly.

Isis looks at Ry through her rear view mirror and smiles friendly at him, "Not a problem."

"Don't forget that he needs a car too," Shadi adds pointing up the road towards the rental station.

The stage was outdoors, just off of the beach. There was a long yellow police tape poorly twisted and wrapped around a few rotted posts. It was a blockade to signify the limits of the stands; although everyone knew the tape would be breeched. The large open square looked like it was able to hold a good 3,000 people. Ryou was sure though, that there wouldn't be THAT many people there. Oh but was he ever wrong…

When his sleek, silver Saturn rolled into the packed lot stuffed with cars, Ry almost had a heart attack. To him it seemed like every person in the stadium had brought their own car each.

'Haven't these people ever heard of car pooling?' he wondered silently to himself as he drove at snail's pace searching for a parking space. Once one was found, Ry got out of his car and took notice to all the people around him. There was no way he was going to get a ticket. This was a, for sure, sold out show.

The pass Ryou had gotten from Shadi wasn't a regular ticket. It was a nice VIP pass that hung around his neck. Most people here would kill for this type of ticket. It made Ry feel important for once. This was turning out to be his kind of vacation.

The author made his way through the crowd and reached the sitting area…but there were no chairs. It was a complete, rock-out, Mosh-pit, in which was going to be very loud and messy. Not food messy…but brawls were going to break out, that was certain too.

The sky had gotten a bit darken since he had arrived, and some of the bands were up on stage tuning their instruments. The pit had filled up with way too many people but they didn't seem to mind. The posters with some of the featured bands were posted everywhere. Ry grabbed one and let his eyes drift over the writing.

"Battle of the Okinawa Bands! Featured groups include: Throw Down the Rose, Fire at Will, Love like a Pebble, Ominous, and more of your favorites! Join us at the beach to hear all this awesome music!"

Suddenly a loud note echoed thunderously off the amplifier. Ry twisted his head and caught a glimpse of the person who sounded off the noise. His back was facing him and Ryou found it somewhat attractive, but he just shook his head and listened to the opening band.

He had to admit that they weren't bad, and it was obvious to him that the guitar player was very attractive. Thanks to the shrieking of the girls behind him. Each of them had a sign that would read something like: "We love you Firefly."

'Firefly. What kind of name is that?' Ry thought to himself with a chuckle. Though, he did have to admit himself that this 'Firefly' was kind of cute. But 'Firefly' looked like a total asshole; all his tattoos and short spiky hair. Ryou rolled his eyes and stared up at the band members. When out of no where the guitarist looked down at him and almost stopped playing.

Ryou pulled back slightly and he stood staring into 'Firefly's' russet eyes. Shaking his head, he spun around and disappeared into the crowd. Even from being thirty feet away the black eyeliner did nothing to mask Bakura's memorable gaze.